Not in My Body!

As a student nurse I have already had multiple opportunities to administer medications for clients both by mouth and by other routes (primarily IV or injection). One thing I have commonly seen in a wide variety of patients is a complete lack of knowledge or caring about the medications they are receiving. My advice today is this: Do not take ANY substance or medication without knowing what it is and why you're taking it!

Why does this matter?

One of the best ways to be an advocate for your health is to be aware of what's going on. The best health care outcomes are achieved when the patient participates in the process as fully as possible. This isn't just in the hospital setting, but in the clinical setting as well. When you see a doctor, PA, or nurse practitioner and they prescribe something for you- ask WHY? What is this? What will it do? What are the side effects? What else should I know?

One reason this is important is you may be the one that catches a medication error. If you're in the hospital receiving medications you've never seen before there are a few reasons for this: 1) they are new and have been ordered to treat (or sometimes as prevention) your diagnosis, 2) they are the same medication you've had before and are either a different dose, different brand, or different form, 3) they are a medication you are not intended to have. Nurses, doctors, pharmacists are all capable of making mistakes. They're human, after all. Question what they give you. It may save your life!

Another reason you want to be careful is the new medication may be doubling up on something you're already receiving medications for. Do you know the difference between Coumadin and Warfarin? You may not, but your doctor should know they're the same thing and if you neglected to alert a new doctor to the fact you're taking warfarin and he prescribes coumadin, you may end up with a severe problem- even life threatening. There are many other drugs that can be potentially dangerous or fatal if doubled up on that you'll want to be wary of. The best way to avoid this is to make certain each provider you see has a COMPLETE list of all current medications (including over the counter, herbal supplements, and vitamins). The next step is for you to ask what you are being prescribed and what it's for- blood pressure? But Doctor, I already have a blood pressure medication, do I need this one, too? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Ask!

I had a 15-year-old boy I was taking care of in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. I was administering Heparin by injections. I asked him "Do you know what this is?" and he answered, "No." Then I asked, "This is Heparin. Do you know why you're getting it?" and he shrugged. "Do you want to know?" again, he shrugged. This started me in on my little "tirade" of "You should know what medications you are being given, and don't be afraid to ask the nurse what it is and what it does, and always feel free to ask any questions you have on it....." I know it's asking a lot of a teenage to care about that- but really, it's the only body you'll ever get so you should care what people do to it!

Remember, the things you should know (and have a RIGHT to know) when receiving medications are:

• The name of the drug and dosage
  
• The purpose (what it's intended to do)
• Potential side effects
• Things to look out for
• Contraindications (reasons you shouldn't take it, ie- pregnancy)

Drug guides are available for purchase to anyone who wishes to buy them. I like Prentice Hall's Nurse's Drug Guide 2008. Even has a PDA version to go on a Palm Pilot should you be that ambitious. When picking up a prescription from the pharmacy, Pharmacists are usually wonderfully helpful answering these questions even if your doctor isn't. If you rather not spend the money, go to this website to get information on drugs, how they work (to more detail than you might ever care to know!), dosing, routes, adverse reactions and side effects, contraindications and drug interactions, etc. http://www.rxlist.com Has both consumer and "professional" information available, depending what level you're more comfortable with.

My recommendation, if you haven't gleaned it from all this just yet, is never take or allow to be administered any drug you do not know what it is, what it's for, etc. It's your body, you not only have the right to know, but an obligation to ask!

Let's Get This Party Started!

This is a quick introduction to who I am, what this blog will be about, and to give you an opportunity to say Hi, post comments, or make suggestions as I go along my way.

I am a 27-year-old female, wife, mother of 2 girls, and a student nurse going to college at the university where I live. I've been in school for four years now, learning a lot both academically and not along the way. I have many experiences, thoughts, and feelings regarding the individual and the family that I hope to share. I've seen things that still haunt and bother me, and thus have been inspired to write frank passages and "articles" in hopes to reach one person to prevent if just one person from having to experience the same thing.

I'm educated and opinionated, not always the best combination, but even so I know that I am far from knowing everything. When possible I will try to cite articles or refer to more "official" sources that can either validate what I say, or give you enough information to make your own educated conclusion.

If there is anything I can hope to relay to my audience it is this: educate yourself and be a healthy skeptic- for this is how you can best advocate for yourself. Never accept things at face value. Do not be blinded by fancy titles and words. Don't always believe what you think!